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Friday, February 9, 2018

Glyphosate poisoning of the L.A. river has become so bad and such a contentious issue that a congressman from the area has urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop using the weedkiller.

Over the last few years, the use of glyphosate to control weeds and other vegetation around the L.A. river has become controversial, with many concerned over the links to cancer, birth defects and reproductive issues.

The EPA claims that glyphosate is not carcinogenic but pretty much everyone else disagrees and it is likely that the EPA would approve agent orange for use as a fertilizer if Monsanto ramped up its lobbying efforts just a little more.

Representative Adam Schiff of Burbank wrote a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging the agency to stop using glyphosate and look toward using safer alternatives.

Over the past year I have heard from numerous constituents and community organizations with concerns over public safety given the USACE’s use of glyphosate in the Los Angeles River.

Local and state agencies have also seen the potential risks from human exposure to this chemical and have limited or banned its use. I once again urge the USACE to end its use of products containing glyphosate as part of the LAR vegetation management plan in favor of safe alternatives. Should the USACE not do so, I intend to consider legislative remedies to protect the health of our Los Angeles community.

Has there ever been a situation in which calling government authorities has worked out well for innocent people or animals?
Paddington residents may be asking themselves that question today after officials from the Sydney suburb murdered 50,000 European honey bees because a resident complained.

Locals who had become accustomed to seeing the massive bee hive were horrified to find thousands of dead bees beneath the hive and across the road. Residents say that the hive was no threat to anyone and that most residents enjoyed its presence and liked to watch the hive grown. Residents say that there was no need to kill the bees when they could have been relocated which is common practice in Australia.

A spokesperson for the Woollahara Municipal Council stated that the Council had attempted to call a beekeeper and did not immediately hear back. Thus, apparently deeming a hive that had grown from nothing to 50,000 bees with no complaints from residents, a dire emergency, the council called Pest Control. All this on the alleged complaint of one alleged resident.

While it may be true enough that a resident complained about the hive (there’s always one in every group), it is interesting that every time an “officer” or “official” wants to harass, search or kill something they do so on the basis on resident responses that are always anonymous and often come from communities in which residents don’t seem to have complaints.

In a surprising turn of events, a U.S. federal court has ruled in favor of the public interest. Even more surprising, the court ruled against the FDA which has been pushing the approval of GE salmon for human consumption.

The approval of the GE salmon, which is made from the DNA of Pacific Chinook Salmon, Atlantic Salmon and Deepwater Ocean Eel Pout, took place in 2015. However, the battle has been raging long before and after that date. The FDA, while launching a jihad against natural supplements and kratom, became the first government agency in the world to approve a GM animal for commercial sale and consumption.

Apparently the “every possible danger must be hyped, examined and exploited for a ban” methodology only applies to harmless substances and those that improve the health and livelihoods of the average American. When it comes to those substances which could potentially harm large amounts of people, or eradicate entire species of animals, the FDA takes a hands-off approach.

This time around, many experts have expressed concern with GE salmon, including biologists at U.S. Wildlife agencies who work with fish and wildlife, criticizing the FDA for not properly investigating the potential impacts. The FDA while jumping on the bandwagon of every distorted story in regards to kratom and natural supplements, ignored these professionals with real concerns. As a result, on March 2016, Earth Justice filed a lawsuit against the FDA. The lawsuit required the FDA to compile a record of research and documents that led up the FDA decision to approve GE salmon. The lawsuit requires a complete record.

At the time of the writing of this article, the FDA has refused to release most of the documents related to its decision despite a number of clients requesting those documents under FOIA. As Earth Justice states,

In the latest instance of American war criminality, the United States launched an air attack against the Syrian military on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. This brazen aggression against the sovereign government of Syria has resulted in the death of at least one hundred “forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad” according to U.S. military officials.

The U.S. military claims the strikes were “defensive” and that they were in retaliation for a “threatening” “Syrian Army-led attack consisting of five hundred troops – backed by artillery and tanks – during the night of Wednesday to Thursday against positions of Arab and Kurdish partner militias at oilfields near the town of Khasham on the eastern shore of the Euphrates River,” according to al-Masdar News.

By “Arab and Kurdish partner militias,” the U.S. is referring to the terrorist Marxists and jihadists of the YPG and SDF respectively.

By “forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad” the U.S. could be referring to any number of participants – i.e. the Syrian military, local militias, Hezbollah, Iranian, or even Russian forces. Neither the Syrian nor American governments have released details as to the identity of which forces were attacked by the American military though Lebanese news outlet, Al-Masdar News, suggests that the victims belonged to the Syrian military itself. Reports and on the ground evidence in Syria seems to corroborate al-Masdar’s claims.

The U.S. attack represents yet another brazen act of Hubris and arrogance that goes hand in hand with the Western imperialism which has seen the United States and NATO march across the world, leaving nothing but their bloody footprints behind them. To claim “self-defense” in a country that you have destabilized, invaded, and occupied is hypocrisy to say the least. It is also a violation of national sovereignty and international law.

Dennis Kucinich, who recently launched his campaign for Governor of Ohio, has never been afraid to go against the grain and speak out with an unpopular opinion and an unpopular time. This was the case when he was mayor of Cleveland and throughout his tenure as a Congressman. It was also the case when, after the election of Donald Trump, Kucinich spoke out against an obvious attempt by the Deep State to control and steer the new Trump administration in a direction of their own using internal leaks, scandals, and other forms of pressure against the President.

Unfortunately for Kucinich, in Democratic party circles as well as in the mainstream media, it’s become a law that, before you can speak a word, you must first condemn Donald Trump. Anything short of disagreement on every aspect of Trump’s administration and raving attacks on his every move is considered treason.

Still, as the CIA leak controversy was at its height, Kucinich appeared on FOX News and stated:

You have to look at the institution of the Presidency. This isn’t just about one President. It’s about the Presidency which belongs to the American people. And when you look at the leaks, the anonymous sources, coming from intelligence agencies like the CIA and the FBI, they’re aimed at upending the Presidency, not just the President, and it’s a form of a coup. This is very dangerous for our country. We’re all Americans. We have to stand for our country. We cannot let faceless, anonymous people try to upend our government, it’s a totally un-American approach that is occurring.

A Russian jet fighter pilot was killed on Friday while operating over the town of Massran in Idlib province in Syria. The Sukhoi-25 plane had apparently lowered its altitude while on its mission and was struck by fighters belonging to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The pilot ejected but, once on the ground, was killed with HTS taking credit for his death. However, the Russian Defense Ministry released a statement claiming that the soldier had detonated a grenade in order to avoid being captured by the notoriously cruel and savage “rebels” supported by the United States.

The pilot, Roman Filipov, was posthumously awarded the Hero of Russia medal.

According to the Russian MOD, his last words were “Here’s for the guys.”

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

After Europe’s tragic experience during the second world war at the hands of Nazis, many Europeans have prided themselves as being the tip of the spear of “tolerance,” “anti-racism,” and “liberal” policies. Though the horrors of the Soviets and Communism are rarely mentioned, the horrors of Hitler are repeatedly bashed upon the heads of Europeans with the requisite collective guilt and trained need to atone for the crimes their grandparents and great grandparents were allegedly responsible for. Of course, the older generation was simply cannon fodder for the great powers of their time and it was the same power structures and elitists maintaining their positions today that were responsible for the horrors on all three sides but still the general public is viewed as responsible for the atrocities committed in their name, despite risking their lives for even speaking out in dissent at the time.

For years, the European, particularly German, chant, has been “Never Again!” Unfortunately, as Europeans rehash the horrors of Nazi Germany and scream “Never Again!” they are unaware that what they have pledged never to do again is indeed happening again. This time, the old veneer of nationalism is gone, however, and the “global community,” “tolerance,” and “anti-racism,” has taken its place.

But while nationalism may have died in Europe long ago, totalitarianism is alive and well and the march to the concentration camps and mass slaughter is ramping up yet again, following the same path as it did in the first quarter of the last century.

The familiar progression of disarmament, banning free speech and dissent, and the eugenic-based “euthanasia” of the mentally ill, disabled, and other “undesirables” has reappeared once again on European soil, this time under the guise of “liberalism” and “tolerance.”

Friday, February 2, 2018

While America’s military continues to march across the world, destroying nation after nation and the U.S. State Department funds color revolutions in others, the CIA also continues it’s own campaign of control and manipulation in virtually all the rest. But, moral questions aside, Americans back home aren’t even reaping the benefits of empire abroad. With an economy continuing to mire in depression, crumbling infrastructure, more difficult access to healthcare, tainted food supplies, and a police state that is deepening by the day, the American people are becoming accustomed to lower living standards and all the hurdles associated with it. Indeed, there are parts of the United States – Detroit, Flint, and much of the rural south, for instance, - that resemble a third world country more than anything one might expect to see in “the greatest country in the world.”

Nowhere are the crumbling standards of America more evident than in Appalachia, an area that is often forgotten whenever any political discussion is held. That is, until politicians breeze through the region and attempt to soak up some disgruntled white, formerly working class votes. After election time, however, the candidates put Appalachia and its residents out of their minds and continue business as usual. Economic depression, drug addiction, crime, poverty, and environmental degradation are all part of Appalachia now. They are not the only part, of course, but they have unfortunately become the main backdrop to a region that has suffered the setbacks of every bad decision coming out of Washington and its respective state governments.

Not having the benefit of being made up of mostly protected or chosen minorities, Appalachia is merely forgotten by most Americans or used as a backdrop of mockery and derision by Hollywood producers and academics. When it is remembered, the residents are painted as dirt poor rednecks, racist, misogynistic, dumb hillbillies. One need only listen to a recent broadcast on NPR where Appalachia was being discussed as if it were a foreign country to see how distant certain demographics are from other elements of society.

California has been at it again, proving to everyone in the country that the state most loudly proclaiming to be the leader against CO2, the disproven boogeyman of “Climate Change,” is really not interested in the environment at all, but the element of control Climate Change policies provide. There really isn’t any other explanation for what is happening in the Antelope Valley where local government has been taking individuals who live off the grid in the middle of nowhere off of their land by force of law.

In a video shot by Reason TV, several stories are told by the residents of Antelope Valley, most of them living in unique style homes built by their own hands, others living off the electric and water grids doing nothing but living their lives and minding their own business. Many of these residents have received a knock on their doors only to find armed men with guns drawn over municipal and county codes.

That’s right, a virtual armed raid over codes that most people, if viewed objectively, would find onerous and ridiculous to begin with. Nevertheless, residents have found themselves charged with numerous misdemeanors, excessive fines, extortion, and jail over “code enforcement” that is allegedly designed to “protect the public.” These people are then forced off their land in an area that has admitted “homeless problem.”

The issue in Antelope Valley is not new. In fact, it goes all the way back to 2011 whenMars Melincoff wrote an article about the situation for LA Weekly entitled, “LA County’s Private Property War,” where she wrote,

Researchers and analysts who are familiar with the Syria Democratic Forces operating with American backing in Northern and Eastern Syria have long noted that the SDF is nothing more than the YPG along with a heavy peppering of Arab jihadists. Yet the corporate press in the United States continues to claim that the SDF are merely moderates (vetted, of course, for their moderation) who have no other interest than democracy in Syria.

However, while attempting to denigrate any independent research into the SDF by alt media researchers, the MSM has missed a glaring admission by the Special Operations Command, General Raymond Thomas, made on July 21, 2017 at the Aspen Institute Security Forum.

When asked by the interviewer about an example of how SOCOM “identifies enablers on the ground,” General Thomas replied,

As you know, sometimes it’s of necessity. [You know,] who’s available? The one that I think is most discussed and most misunderstood is the evolution with our counterpart in Syria, the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces. Now, interestingly, they came about that name because they wanted, and I dealt with them directly, I was in on the formative stage of the relationship with these guys. They formerly called themselves the YPG which the Turks would say equated to the PKK and say “You’re dealing with a terrorist enemy of mine. How could you do that, ally?” So we literally played back to them, you know, you’ve got to change your brand. You know, what do you want to call yourself besides the YPG. And, with about a day’s notice, they declared that they were the Syrian Democratic Forces. I thought it was a stroke of brilliance to put “democracy” in there somewhere but it gave them a little bit of credibility. And the interesting part, and I was lucky to have a great partner in Brett McGurk out there with me about the same time because they were asking for things that I couldn’t give them and it literally was an acknowledgement that they were the demographic dominant force in Northern Syria. They wanted a seat at the table whether it’s at Geneva, or Astana, or wherever talks are happening about the future of Syria and, because they had been branded as PKK, they could never get to the table. So while we paired with them militarily, Brett McGurk was able to keep them in the conversation and allow them the necessary legitimacy to be good partners for us so it was literally something “I need you militarily, the diplomat here will deliver an entrée if nothing else for you to be legitimate, you know, from a state standpoint or at least from a government standpoint later on.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Turkey has invaded Syria to fight against the Kurds. Turkey is fighting alongside FSA terrorists while the United States, a Turkish ally is fighting alongside Kurdish terrorists. The Syrian military is pushing northwest toward Idlib city and the Russian, Iranian, and Hezbollah forces remain in the country to stabilize the situation and defeat jihadist groups continuing to operate there. The Kurds work with the FSA but the FSA is now working with the Turks. The FSA also works with the United States who in turn works with the Kurds.

This is a brief example of the complexities of the Syrian crisis, exacerbated by recent events. For most casual observers, it is becoming harder to determine who is fighting who and likewise who is working together. With so many competing agendas and interests, the waters have become so muddied even researchers and journalists familiar with the crisis are less clear as to what is happening in Syria right now.

In order to understand what is currently taking place in Syria, it is important to understand the interests of the parties involved. Quite simply, one needs to know what these parties want. After understanding the agenda of the nations taking part in the conflict, it will be easier to understand the possibilities in terms of where the recent Turk invasion is going to take Turkey, Syria, the United States, the Middle East, and the world.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Ohio Gubernatorial candidate, Dennis Kucinich, released the first in a series of forthcoming detailed platform points surrounding his campaign on January 25. Fracking, a contentious issue for the people of Ohio (but not for their politicians) has contributed to poor water quality, decrease in agriculture, and damages to human health throughout the state and many have simply accepted it as a way of life. But Kucinich is putting it back on the table as an issue that will be tackled, given he wins the election.

While most politicians and candidates only go so far as to “address the concerns that people may have” regarding fracking, Kucinich outlined a plan that would end fracking completely in the state of Ohio and begin remediation for the people and communities that have suffered damages as a result. Kucinich is no stranger to the issue of Fracking since he and his wife have both traveled to Standing Rock, North Dakota and the Hudson Valley in New York opposing fracking and the use of eminent domain being used for the benefit of the oil and gas corporations.

Standing next to his running mate, Akron city councilwoman Tara Samples, Kucinich read a statement that listed the immense dangers of fracking.

Today I am making my first major policy announcement as a candidate for governor, first to review the consequences of fracking and deep well injection of frack waste, and secondly to detail new policies for the state which I intend to pursue if elected, consistent with changing the relationship of the people of Ohio to their state government, under our campaign motto of #PowerToWeThePeople.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Former Mayor, U.S. Congressman, and famous peace advocate Dennis Kucinich formally announced his run for Governor of the state of Ohio on January 17, 2018. With current Governor John Kasich stepping down due to term limit constraints, leaving a trail of lost jobs, economic stagnation, crumbling infrastructure, police state measures, and environmental destruction in his wake, the Governor’s race is a little crowded in the scramble to fill the position. However, while the other candidates are traditional “conservative” and “liberal” special interest puppets, Kucinich has now thrown his hat into the ring as well.

Known nationally for being one of the few congressmen who voted against the Iraq war and the PATRIOT Act, opposed Free Trade, ran for President twice, and opposed America’s disastrous imperialism in Libya and Syria as well as a number of attempts at war with Iran, Kucinich is well-known in Ohio for his refusal to sell city-owned utilities to private companies.

"The same person, battle scars and all, is before you today, with a wealth of experience, no less ready to stand up, to speak out, to take on corrupt interests on behalf of the people of Ohio, ready to be the voice that bridges left and right, a clear voice unafraid to call things like I see them," Kucinich said.

Kucinich is framing his campaign around the slogan #PowerToWeThePeople and has already released a number of platform points that include rebuilding Ohio’s Infrastructure, increasing the minimum wage, protecting public ownership, creating a state-run broadband company that would compete with private providers and effectively create net neutrality. Kucinich is also advocating for a universal healthcare option for the state.

Friday, January 26, 2018

After decades of suffering under a private “market-based” healthcare economy, Americans who were also suffering under high unemployment rates, lower living standards, and high stress, found themselves burdened by a private health insurance industry that charged exorbitant rates while denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions and refused to pay out for needed medical care for many whom it did cover.

For years, many Conservatives suggested even more de-regulation of the insurance markets and the elimination of any government involvement in the health industry. This, they argued, would create competition and bring about cheaper prices. Many on the left, however, aware that the Conservative argument was based on faulty principles and that it would, in fact, do the opposite of what well-meaning-Conservatives desired, argued for a “single payer” or “universal” program. However, these well-meaning liberals fail to define what they mean by “single payer” and typically rely on even more burdensome methods of funding for such a program; i.e. raising taxes, cutting care.

Ironically, however, Democrats and Republicans, despite years of hurling insults and launching political campaigns against one another, can actually agree upon the ideal healthcare system – forcing Americans to buy private insurance at the barrel of a gun, allowing those companies to raise premiums, and cutting costs by cutting care for the healthcare customer. This was an insurance companies’ dream as well as the dream of Big Pharma and Wall Street. For the American people, it was and already has been a nightmare.

Censorship of news is never a good thing. It might suit media corporations worried about their business model, falling circulation and losing advertising dollars, or maybe they worry about government directives and what they can and cannot say, but censorship is never a good thing. The new labels 'fake news', 'post truth era' which Facebook has taken up as its cause must be balanced against the fact that Facebook is a tech company, not run by journalists, not governed by journalistic ethics. So who is minding them?

The Chilcot inquiry looked into a number of questions arising from the inaccurate reporting of the Iraq war, the 'failure of intelligence' or as some might say, the lies Western governments told about WMDs that didn't exist and the role of the media in uncritically defending the pretext for war on Iraq. The Chilcot inquiry found many errors and damning evidence of the wrong doings of the UK and the US governments and their allies. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people died as a result of the US attack on Baghdad and war on Iraq.

The removal of Saddam Hussein, another 'dictator' in Western terms, did not improve the living standards of Iraqi civilians. Instead it led to the rise of a variety of terrorist groups, destruction of infrastructure and the ruin of civil society. It increased, not decreased the suffering of the Iraqi people. That suffering continues today. Accountability, accuracy, thorough research, being on the ground, checking sources for accuracy and reliability- all of these things are again missing in media reports on Syria today. Another Middle Eastern country is subjected to foreign invasion, terrorism and all the media can do is blame and demonise the leadership of the country- victim blaming on a global level and report from sources that turn out to be terrorists with no interest in building a stronger more cohesive Syria.

While Rex Tillerson, Nikki Haley, Heather Nauert, and Emmanuel Macron as well as the entirety of the Western corporate media focus on phantom chemical attacks, none of the above have even mentioned the terrorist shelling of Damascus (Bab Touma area) which has resulted in the death of nine people, most of whom were children and teens.

On January 22, mortars began falling on the Bab Touma area of Damascus just as the children were heading home from school. In addition to the nine killed, another twenty-one were seriously injured, one teenage girl having her legs so heavily damaged that the doctors were trying to save them and avoid amputation at the time of the reporting.

Despite constant harping on the death of any civilian that could attributed to accidental or incidental bombing of terrorists by Russia or the Syrian government, the West has remained quiet as a mouse whenever civilians are intentionally targeted by Western-backed terrorists. Instead, the American and Western public is subject to hearing about "the regime's chemical weapons attacks" which do not exist (much like the "regime's chemical weapons") and how Bashar al-Assad is "killing his own people," a myth debunked so many times my eyes now gloss over whenever I type it.

Journalist Vanessa Beeley was in the general vicinity when the attacks took place, having just left Bab Touma ten minutes before. She writes,

We were leaving Bab Touma this afternoon just as the schools finished for the afternoon, around 1.30pm. The streets were teeming with children of all ages, laughing and talking excitedly as they headed for the many school buses waiting for them. The car horns echoed around the streets from the impatient drivers packed into the narrow, cobbled streets.

It seems as if the U.S. State Department has been on a continual loop ever since August, 2013 when Western-backed terrorists launched a chemical weapons attack that was subsequently blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government by the United States and other imperialist nations assisting in the attempted destruction of Syria. Ever since 2013, when the United States almost succeeded in propagandizing the general public enough to support a direct military invasion of Syria, we have seen the U.S. State Department whining and shrieking about “chemical weapons attacks” conducted by the “regime” in Damascus against “his own people,” “civilians,” and “beautiful babies” on a bi-monthly basis. The tired “chemical weapons” line has never been able to provide the U.S. with as much payoff as it almost did in 2013, however, and, in 2018, Heather Nauert’s whining and Nikki Haley’s head-swinging fits at the U.N. simply don’t have the same effect as Samantha Power’s theatrics in the halls of the same institutions a few years ago.

Five years on, the actors may have switched places but the play remains the same. In fact, so does the stage and the dialogue. Once again, the U.S. is screaming at the top of its lungs that the Syrian military has used chemical weapons against civilians in Ghouta, outside Damascus.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that, “Only yesterday more than 20 civilians, most of them children, were victims of an apparent chlorine gas attack. He stated that the alleged attacks “raise serious concerns that Bashar al-Assad may be continuing to use chemical weapons against his own people”.

Of course, there is absolutely no evidence that the Syrian military used chemical weapons in the attacked referenced by Tillerson nor is there any credible evidence that the Syrian government even maintains a stockpile of chemical weapons to use if it wanted to. Indeed, the only sources supporting Tillerson’s claims are the White Helmets, the al-Nusra Front propaganda wing that has been exposed ad nauseum as a terrorist outfit designed to construct propaganda fitted for Western audiences.

With the recent unrest in Iran seemingly organized and orchestrated by outside forces such as the U.S. color revolution apparatus in concert with Saudi Arabia, it is becoming more and more clear to individuals observing the situation in the Middle East that the plan to destroy Iran is now coming into view. Even before Syria was destabilized by Western forces in 2011, Iran had been placed on the chopping block on the list of countries that would be ripped apart for the crime of not acquiescing to dictates of the Western financial system. From being included in Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech to being discussed by the Project For A New American Century as a target shortly before 9/11 became the “New Pearl Harbor” to justify the rapid spread of American empire across the world and eviscerate what was left of civil liberties at home, Iran has been in the crosshairs of the Western financier system. Likewise, Iran was identified by General Wesley Clark as one of the countries set to be attacked and destroyed by the United States after 9/11.

Ever since 2001, Iran has been a topic of discussion by politicians, intelligence agencies, the military, and a myriad of Western financier “think tanks” in terms of how the country can best be destabilized, weakened, or destroyed.

The Brookings Institution Report – Which Path To Persia?
The plan for a Western or a Western/Israeli attack on Iran, along with the theatre of alleged US-Israeli tensions leading up to a strike and outright war, has been in the works for some time. For instance, in 2009, the Brookings Institution, a major banking, corporate, and military-industrial firm, released a report entitled “Which Path To Persia? Options For A New American Strategy For Iran,” in which the authors mapped out a plan which leaves no doubt as to the ultimate desire from the Western financier, corporate, and governing classes.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

No doubt, many Republicans are rejoicing today over the Trump administration’s announcement of it’s “new” Syria policy. Unfortunately, that policy is identical to the one set by Barack Obama and his and Trump’s opponent during the sordid 2016 election, Hillary Clinton. With that in mind, it begs the question what Republicans were so upset about when Obama was President, but that’s another topic for another article.

The oil magnate Tillerson announced in a speech to the Stanford University Hoover Institute that the United States will be staying in Syria despite earlier claims that the reason the U.S. was in Syria was to see to the defeat of ISIS. Now, Tillerson says American forces will remain in Syria until five conditions are met 1.) The defeat of ISIS 2.) Assad is removed from power 3.) Syrian refugees return to Syria 4.) Iranian influence is diminished and 5.) Syria becomes free of weapons of mass destruction.

Tellingly, Tillerson’s statements were made during a speech and “interview” session in front of a live audience where the interviewer was none other than known neo-con war criminal, Condoleeza Rice. We can only assume that Rice’s heart began to flutter at hearing the words “weapons of mass destruction” used in front of a national audience yet again used to justify a mass slaughter.

"A total withdrawal of American personnel at this time would help [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad," said Tillerson. "A stable, unified and independent Syria ultimately requires post-Assad leadership in order to be successful. Continued U.S. presence to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS will also help pave the way for legitimate local civil authorities to exercise responsible governance of their own liberated areas."

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

After numerous stories regarding the creation and distribution of genetically modified mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands and Florida, there seems to be no sign of walking back on the controversial procedure, despite the outcry from the populations set to be the next test bed. Instead, not only are the mosquito releases continuing, but the process of fine tuning those mosquitoes has been supercharged by additional laboratories and even by the shadowy Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) under the guise of attempting to eliminate malaria.

At issue here is the concept of “Gene drives,” a system of genetic tampering that changes the natural inheritance mechanism that sees offspring maintain a 50/50 chance of inheriting a genetic trait and provides scientists with the opportunity to vastly increase the possibility of inheriting the desired trait.

In a warm and very humid room, behind a series of sealed doors, Omar Akbari keeps a zoo of mosquito mutants. He’s got mosquitoes with three eyes, mosquitoes with malformed mouthparts, mosquitoes with forked wings, mosquitoes with eerie white eyes, and mosquitoes that are bright yellow instead of black.

Akbari loves them unabashedly; he feeds them fish flakes, mouse blood, and sugar water and calls some of them “beautiful.” But they’re not pets: Akbari’s lab here at the University of California, Riverside, is at the leading edge of a revolutionary technology — gene drive — that could one day deploy mosquito mutants to rid the world of scourges like malaria, dengue, and Zika.

Anyone who pays attention to their local news has seen the signs of a coming apocalypse in the United States, although they are probably not aware of it. While many equate a water crisis to the sucking up of resources by big business interests or an offhanded moment of pollution from the local industry, there is another type water crisis looming over America. It’s not just Coca-Cola and property rights, it’s the failure of municipalities, states, and the federal government to ensure that drinking water is actually drinkable.

There have been a number of notable incidents in the last few years that showcase the crumbling infrastructure of the United States and the lower living standards Americans are being forced to accept. Flint, Michigan is the most notable and recognizable instance of water pollution in recent memory. That crisis is still ongoing and, while the U.S. has plenty of money for Israel, foreign aid, and foreign wars, it simply can’t find anything in its already tightened spending belt to help the people of Flint have access to clean water. At this point, the U.S. federal government is doing more to help Africans than it is to help African-Americans. Unfortunately for Flint, State and local governments are the reason for the crisis in the first place.

For two years, industrial chemicals and lead poisoned Flint’s water supply and no one did anything until one woman blew the whistle. Had it not been for her, Flint would still be drinking lead and other pollutants unknowingly. Now, despite the outcry, they know what they are drinking but, unfortunately, not much else has changed.

For those that hoped Trump would bring a more sensible approach to the Western-induced Syrian crisis, it is almost for certain that those hopes have been officially dashed with the revelation of the Trump administration’s new policy regarding the SDF, Kurds, a new border force, and the logical partitioning plan that is obviously moving forward.

The new plans announced by the United States involve the creation of a “border force” that is expected to contain around 30,000 personnel to be deployed at the borders controlled by the SDF (Syria Democratic Forces). The force will be trained by the United States and will contain members from the SDF and YPG and will see Kurdish members patrolling “Kurdish areas” while Arab members patrol “Arab areas.”

Naturally, the move has angered Turkey since it is opposed to Kurdish nationalism out of fears that it will inspire Kurdish extremists inside Turkey itself. Russia has also condemned the move claiming that it will lead to partitioning. Syria, for its part, has labeled the Trump administration’s plan as an insult to Syria’s national integrity and appears dedicated to Assad’s promise to liberate every inch of Syrian territory.

The U.S.-led coalition is working with its Syrian militia allies to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel, the coalition said on Sunday, a move that has added to Turkish anger over U.S. support for Kurdish-dominated forces in Syria.

Keegan McInroe just released a brilliant protest album and, chances are, you’ve never heard of it. During the course of about half an hour, McInroe takes on a number of important issues in a serious (and sometimes satirical) fashion. The album is aptly titled “A Good Old Fashioned Protest.”

But there are a number of reasons you’ve probably never heard of the album or possibly even of Keegan. Quite simply, he’s not part of the music industry establishment selling fluff, idiocy, and ignoring anything of relevance to the human experience. His protest also isn’t the token “courageous” stand against Trump that is so “courageous” it’s a virtual pre-requisite to even entertain discussion in popular circles. Nor is it a powdery presentation of any of the trendy issues that galvanize a portion of the population to send up innumerable hashtags and irritate their friends at dinner.

Granted, his songs are indeed about all those things and they do stand against Trump. But they also stand against the wars started by Democrats. McInroe’s album is not about Conservative or Liberal politics, parties, or trendy issues. On the contrary, it’s about very real issues. Indeed, the artist who wrote “A Good Old Fashioned Protest” is obviously more aware than someone sitting home and watching CNN. This is clear to anyone who listens to any of the songs on the album. The lyrics to the songs contain very obvious mentions of the fact that Libya and Syria are proxy wars against governments outside of the Western system as well as the fact that the United States is taking part in the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st Century in Yemen. He’s aware North Korea is a major distraction from other issues and that virtually every mainstream production is disinformation. He also tackles surveillance, GMOs, the war on drugs, and the war on terror. Not your average album of the so-called”resistance.”

Sunday, January 14, 2018

In the past few weeks the Russian Khmeimim Airbase in Lattakia, Syria has been attacked twice. Once, on New Year’s Eve, the base was attacked by terrorist infiltration squads armed with mortars. The attacks resulted in the death of two Russian soldiers and the damaging of a number of Russian aircraft. On January 6, the base was attacked again, this time by one of the weirdest operations of the last few years. The base came under fire by 13 armed drones who were either shot down or brought down by electronic warfare means by the Russian forces. Where these drones originated from, who operated them, and from where they were controlled are all mysteries.

While the most likely suspects are terrorist groups on the ground, some have suspected Turkey of either providing the technology while others have pointed directly to the United States. The Russian government has even suggested the United States may have been behind the attacks without actually saying so directly. Russian officials have stated that the drones were not just basic drone technology that is widely available on the market but, instead, a type of technology that requirement a high level of expertise greater than anything any group in Syria is known to possess at this time. The Russian Defense Ministry also pointed out the “coincidental” presence of the U.S. Poseidon reconnaissance plane was in the skies of the area for four hours during the time which the assault took place.

Afraa Dagher Twitter

Syriana Afraa

Eva Bartlett

Observations from Occupied Palestine: Gaza – In Gaza

Quoth The Raven, "Veritas"

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